I Was There
by xAuburnAngelx
Summary: "I was foolish to give up right then and there. Heh, I was ready to give myself to that wretched Titan the moment I saw my mother and sister get brutally eaten. I can't believe I would've left my brother behind if he hadn't dragged me away on that awe frightening day." Following the anime! Armin x OC (Tragedy is a genre as well!)
1. Chapter 1

**Hiya! :D It's been a very long time since I've wrote a story on here! I know I should continue a few stories, but that inspiration...it's just abandoned me. I might rewrite/revise some of them, but some I'll leave alone and never touch again.**

**One or two reviewers on one of my stories say that that a certain story has been rushed, which I can understand. But it was about a year or two ago, and I wanted everything to happen in that moment, you know?**

**Well, I can tell you now that I will do my very best not to make this story rushed at all! I'm going to go with the flow and follow the anime to the best of my ability, maybe add a few fillers, I don't know.**

**Alright! With my tiny little rant over, I'm going to let you guys read chapter 1 of this story from Attack on Titan.**

**Warning! If you have not seen the anime, I recommend you do in order to get what's going on throughout this plot! I'm not going to follow the manga unless it's absolutely necessary!**

**So, without further ado, I hope you enjoy reading! :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Attack on Titan in any way!**

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><p>The year 845... I could never forget that year. On that one, treacherous day, mankind received a grim reminder. We lived in fear of the Titans, and were disgraced to live in these cages we called walls. It has been etched into my brain, giving me a reason to keep going. To keep fighting.<p>

I was foolish to give up right then and there. Heh, I was ready to give myself to that wretched Titan the moment I saw my mother and sister get brutally eaten. I can't believe I would've left my brother behind if he hadn't dragged me away on that awe frightening day.

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><p>It was just like any normal day. I was ten years old at the time, while my brother Bryan was twenty-two. I was waiting within the crowd near the gate to Wall Maria in the Shiganshina district for my brother to return.<p>

My brother was in the Recon Corps, you see. He was fighting Titans and helping out his comrades in any way he can. Even though he's one hundred percent against it, I wanted to join the Recon Corps. I was never into staying at home, doing the cooking, the cleaning, and the sewing. It never interested me.

My mom would tease me about being a strange child, wanting to fight in the Recon Corps and not following in my sister Amanda's footsteps. I would usually roll my eyes and daydream about going outside of those stupid walls. I mean, my mom already taught me what every girl and woman should know about cooking, sewing, and cleaning. I don't deny that it can be beneficial. I just wanted a change in my life! But I doubted that change will ever come.

Boy, how wrong I was.

My brother came back with the remaining Recon Corps soldiers. They've always had those grim looks on their faces. I always wanted to know what was going on outside of these walls. I wanted to feel their pain. I wanted to understand how they felt, but I could never fully grasp what horror they saw. That's why whenever my brother came back, I always wanted to cheer him up in any way I could.

I would always walk alongside my brother. He would take my hand, give a forced smile, and walk down the path away from the gate with me. However, that day was different. A soldier tearfully admitted they haven't made any progress with the Titans, making the crowd gathered at the time shocked and slightly scared. Including me. But that still didn't stop me for wanting to join the Recon Corps.

My brother and I walked home a few blocks from where Dr. Jeager lived. I knew he had a troublesome, yet determined son named Eren, and had a quiet, obedient, and strong adopted daughter named Mikasa. I never got a chance to truly hang out with them back then. But I did usually hang out with a boy who was strategic, yet cowardly named Armin Arlert. I liked hearing his enthusiasm about going outside these walls. It made me enthusiastic too.

After eating my last warm meal with my family, I decided to go out of the house and play. Not before telling my family I loved them, though. I heard the same response back from each person. You never know when the person love most could vanish right from underneath you. Never say something you'll regret, only to die a moment after.

I ran down a couple pathways until I came across a few guys ganging up on Armin. I was about to teach them a lesson until I heard a couple of people run past me and toward the three bullies. In short, the three ran away by the presence of Mikasa. Heh, what a bunch of pansies.

I walked with the trio, listening to Eren and Armin's discussion on everyone hating them for wanting to go outside. Hell, I would be hated too. But I never spoke out back then. I only told my family and Armin that. No one else.

That's when all Hell broke loose.

Lightning struck near the gate of Wall Maria. Curiosity intriguing me, I ran in the direction of where the gate was. I heard someone calling out for me, but I didn't care who called me back then. All I cared about was seeing the gigantic Titan, with no skin, only exposing the muscles and the connecting tissue. It was well over fifty meters tall and steam was coming off it, and its expression was looking pissed.

I never expected this next thing to happen: it kicked the gate down, leaving a grand entrance for other Titans to walk through.

The kick made the wind impact more than ten times stronger, capable of whisking away a small child. All the stone that was kicked off the wall landed in many directions, mostly houses and people. There was blood in various spots, whether it be on spare houses, the ground, and stone. There were also tiny spare limbs left behind in a few spots near the family that was crying for their loved one. It was a gruesome sight.

I immediately ran to my house, bumping into some people along the way without apologizing. After making a few turns, the next sight made my heart stop completely.

My house was completely destroyed.

I frantically ran to my destroyed house, praying that my mom, brother, and sister made it out alive. By the time I got closer; my blood turned cold, but a tiny bit of hope clung onto me.

They were still alive, but just barely. But there was one person I didn't see. My brother.

I walked towards my mom and sister, half of their bodies looking out from the crumbled house. They looked extremely relieved to see me. But what I didn't know was the fact that a Titan was near.

"Mom! Amanda! You're going to be alright, okay? I'm going to get you out of here!" I shouted with determination. I tried lifting the wood all by myself with my weak arms. But it did no good.

"Sweetheart, listen to me. Leave us here, and go find your brother," my mother spoke softly, making more tears stream down my face. I shook my head in frustration, only to try even harder to lift a part of the house.

"No! I'm not leaving you two here to die!" More tears fell, but my sister took hold of my hand, making me stop and turn my head to her.

"Sarah, please listen to us. Go find Bryan, and stick to him like glue! Please! For me!" Amanda pleaded while tears streamed down her face.

In frustration, I pounded my fist against the ground many times until I looked at them in their eyes and nodded in defeat. I was trying to be strong for them. For me, mostly.

Giving them one last kiss goodbye, I started to walk off with the goal of completing my family's last wishes. But not until I heard screams of bloody murder from my mom and sister. I turned around, and saw a fully skinned, genital-less Titan with short yellow hair and a painted smiling expression. My eyes expanded in fear as I saw the Titan grab both of my relatives and twisted them both in half. They stopped moving. The Titan took a big bite out of them, and swallowed them whole.

I was speechless. My body was frozen. I wanted to die and join my mom and sister. I wanted the Titan to eat me too. I couldn't think about surviving without them by my side. My brother would be fine without me. I didn't want to join the Recon Corps anymore.

The Titan was about grab its next snack, until I felt a pair of strong arms grab me at the last second, and flew off with me from building to building. I slowly turned my head at my savior, and it was none other than my brother Bryan. Stopping at one building, my brother let me down and shook me furiously, giving me the most scared and angry look that I had never seen.

"What the hell were you thinking, Sarah?! What happened to what you told me about wanting to join the Recon Corps?! Don't you want to live to see that happen?!" Bryan shouted at me, as if I were in a comatose state.

I didn't say anything. My body had started to shut down.

"Mom and Amanda wanted you to live on! Don't have their deaths be in vain!"

That sentence alone woke me up.

In that moment after, I broke down crying in my brother's arms while he held me tightly. He held me so tight that I couldn't breathe. He had the fear that I was going to be gone like my mom and sister were. I felt tears on my shirt coming from him. I couldn't believe I had worried him that much.

I made a promise to myself. I won't ever think of something so rash ever again. I won't think about abandoning my brother, my only family left.

Never again.

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><p><strong>That was chapter 1! I hope you enjoyed! Feel free to leave a review, tell me what you guys think. Also, if you happen to like this story, feel free to follow this story, follow me, or favorite this story for any more updates!<strong>

**I hope you have a good day! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello once again! I forgot to mention in the last chapter that the first two chapters are in past tense, the main character only remembering those certain days.**

**I know my past/present/future tense may not be the best, but I will try my hardest to make you guys understand the story and in which form it's in. If you don't even care about all that crap, then hooray! :D**

**This story may be similar to Ways of the Mind, in terms of following the anime and altering some things from happening, but I'm going to try my best to go with the flow of things and not rush like before! :)**

**Please leave a review for what you think of the story so far if you want! :)**

**Okay, enough stalling, read on! :D**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Attack on Titan/Shingeki no Kyojin in any way!**

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><p>Continuing on from that day, my brother carried me down to the last remaining ship. That was our only ticket out of Shiganshina. My brother placed me on the ground, and kissed my forehead. He wished me luck, and then departed to help out his comrades.<p>

I flowed through the massive crowd of people, getting pushed and shoved towards the entrance of the ship. When I finally reached the entrance, one of soldiers looked down at me. He gave me a gentle smile and allowed me on board. He had to have known what happened to me. What I had seen.

I looked to see everyone that was on the ship, and their looks were sullen. They looked panicked, and mumbled useless prayers to God were heard.

I felt sorry for them, but I couldn't do anything to help them. After all, this was – and is – a harsh reality. They were all living in fantasy, thinking that God can save their selfish souls.

"Hey, get a move on, kid!" a guy shoved me, desperate to find the best spot to sit on the ship.

I collapsed to the ground, and the people around me didn't even notice the slight abuse. They continued to worry about themselves. I heard a couple of hurried footsteps coming toward my way, and when I looked up, it was none other than Armin Arlert.

"Sarah, are you okay?" Armin asked with genuine concern. He held out a hand to me, and I gratefully took it.

Armin led me to where he was sitting, and generously gave his spot to me. I looked at him, and his look of worry never went away. I wondered if I looked like the other passengers, if I had the same sullen look. Maybe I looked worse than them. I just saw my parents get eaten right in front of my eyes for God's sake!

Armin was about to talk to me again, but got warned by a stranger to not talk to me right now. Armin looked confused, but left me alone for the time being.

Eventually, Eren and Mikasa found their way on board as well, but Armin looked just as worried for them as he was for me. I glanced over at Eren, and he had the most sullen and scarred expression I had ever seen. Had I looked like that to Armin?

A few moments later, the entrance to the gate had been lifted, not allowing any more passengers. Numerous people were furious with the Recon Corps, but barely a sentence escaped from the people on the ship's lips. Nevertheless, the ship had begun to sail.

Reckless people had decided to try to jump onto the ship. Few have succeeded, while many others failed and fell into the water. If they were smarter back then, then they could have swum in through the gate while being careful of the ship's current flow.

A few hours later, the ship was now inside the official wall. But what had just happened made me that much more worried for everyone within this wall.

A Titan used its body to break through Wall Maria.

Wall Maria had fallen.

Why did all of this happen? What the hell had we done wrong? Why was I too weak to save my mom and sister?! Why didn't I try harder to save them?!

With those questions unanswered, my body had begun to shake. Tears started to fall onto the back of my hands.

I knew that every single human being was weak, but I had no idea why I was fretting about those questions at a time like this. It was pointless to think pessimistically, which sounds crazy to say. We needed to remain strong for those that were left behind. For those that had died in the abandoned Shiganshina district.

I jumped at the sudden movement of Eren slamming his hands on the rim of the ship, tears streaming down his face.

"I'm going to kill them all. Not a single one of them will be left…!" Eren silently declared.

"Eren…" Armin mumbled worriedly.

I had never seen Eren so angry before. For a moment, I was truly scared of him. However, I agreed with him full heartedly, which sounds insane. I had a new reason to join the Recon Corps.

The next day, I felt someone shaking me awake. I groaned in annoyance and tried to force my eyes open. I rubbed my eyes, and got a clear vision of Armin with a small smile on his face. He has short blonde hair with bangs, and has clear blue eyes. We were about the same height, so it was easy to hold a small conversation without having to look up or down at the person.

"Sarah, you're awake!" Armin declared happily. I rolled my eyes a little and gave him a little smile back. I noticed he was holding four loaves of bread. "This is today's food rations that I got from my grandpa. Try not to eat it all at once, okay?"

I gave a small nod and he handed me a loaf of bread. It felt slightly warm and smelt tempting to eat all at once, but I wasn't hungry. I had gotten on my feet while Armin did the same. We walked through the large crowd, but then picked up the pace when Armin first noticed Eren and Mikasa.

"Eren! Mikasa!" Armin called out, capturing their attention.

"Armin? Sarah?" Eren wondered in slight confusion.

Armin passed out the loaves of bread to the siblings, but then got a snooty look from one of the soldiers. I knew there probably wasn't enough food rations for everyone. The soldiers hadn't tried to be happy for what food rations they got. Jealousy and slight anger were written all over their faces.

That same soldier was complaining about the food rations being already short, and had a sadistic thought that the Titans should've eaten more people. I was extremely pissed off at them, but I held my anger back. However, Eren didn't. He kicked the shin of the gossiping soldier, but in result got punched in the face and kicked down to the ground.

"You don't know what you're talking about! You've never seen it with your own eyes! How Titans eat people…!" Eren shouted at the soldiers.

One of them was about to teach Eren another lesson, and I was about to walk up to the soldier and do the same thing. But Armin interfered, apologizing for Eren's rash behavior. I looked around us and noticed we had created a scene for everyone to watch. The soldier walked off while telling us that we kids should learn to be more grateful.

We retreated to one of the pillars that connected to a building and began to eat our rations. While we were doing so, Eren kept telling the three of us of how he'll kill the Titans inside Wall Maria by himself. However, Armin tried to be rational about the situation, and that we couldn't do anything and just live within Wall Rose. The dispute between them started to get worse, and Eren talked back to his own friend more rashly.

"Just continue living like livestock, you weak piece of shit!" Eren shouted at Armin, leaving him speechless. In result, I punched Eren, letting him fall to the ground.

"Sarah…" Armin spoke softly in shock. Mikasa put her hand on my arm, letting it drop down to its side. She gave me a nod in approval, and looked back at her brother.

"If Armin's weak, then so are you, Sarah, and I. We couldn't even escape the Titans or leave the city by ourselves. Even the food we eat is from someone else. There's absolutely no chance of us weaklings taking down even one Titan. What's important is staying alive, just like your mother said," Mikasa rationalized.

Mikasa grabbed the loaf of bread Eren abandoned and shoved it in his mouth, leaving Armin in slight confusion. Eren was silenced by bread in his mouth and started to cry.

If there was one person I would admire aside from my own family, it would be Mikasa. She's the strongest one in the group, and I haven't seen her cry once since yesterday when the tragedy took place. I wanted to be just like her.

I still do to this day.

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><p>A few days later, we refugees were all sent to cultivate land and to secure food. But that couldn't prevent the food shortage.<p>

In the following year of 846, the Central Government launched a campaign to retake Wall Maria using eligible refugees. There were two hundred and fifty thousand of them, almost a fifth of the total population.

However, only a hundred survived. With their sacrifice, the food shortage had improved, albeit a little, for those who survived.

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><p>Armin grasped the hat his grandpa gave him and cried, grieving at the loss of his last known family member. I gently put my hand on his back, and rubbed it a little, making him look over at me. Armin smiled a little in my attempt of trying to cheer him up, but that couldn't bring his grandpa back.<p>

"Armin, I'm applying for military training next year. I'll become strong enough to fight them," Eren suddenly announced, making Mikasa slightly saddened and Armin in shock.

"I'm applying too, Eren," I shyly announced, making Eren slightly shocked.

"Me too!" Armin boldly announced.

"I'll join you too," Mikasa announced as well.

Eren tried to convince Mikasa that she didn't have to, but the only reason why she's joining is because she wants to ensure Eren's safety.

I could understand what she must be feeling. Her only family left is Eren, who isn't even blood related to her. My only family left is my brother Bryan, who is blood related to me. He's been handing out food rations and tried to help whenever he could.

"All right, we'll all join," Eren agreed.

That's when the actual story begins.

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><p><strong>That was chapter 2! :D A little bit more dialogue this time, which I hope you guys like instead of reading a bunch of boring paragraphs ^^;<strong>

**Now, from chapter 3 onward until I say so, there won't be any past tense things!**

**If you like the story so far, please follow this story, follow me, and favorite this story to get more updates! Also, leave a review to let me know what you guys think! :)**

**I hope you have a good day, and have a happy Independence Day! :D**


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